Hobbled Iverson skips Nuggets trip

Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2007 -

DENVER (AP) -Allen Iverson's swollen right ankle doesn't have any structural damage, but he still stayed home while the Denver Nuggets left for a two-game trip to the Midwest.

Iverson aggravated his sprained ankle during overtime in the Nuggets' loss to New Orleans on Wednesday night. He had 22 points, nine assists and four rebounds in his return from a four-game absence but wasn't his usual self as he had to settle for jumpers. An MRI on Thursday didn't show any structural damage.

``I think it is one of those things where I just came back too soon,'' Iverson said. ``I couldn't be me on the basketball court. I am more effective being aggressive and going to the basket and making things happen.''

Asked if he felt he was hurting his team rather than helping, Iverson said: ``I feel like I'm hurting me, first. That's my main concern. ... Obviously, I am worried about my team, but if I am out there and I can't be me, then I don't think I am helping them.''

Iverson realized he shouldn't have rushed back to help his struggling team, which has lost seven of eight.

``This is a game I love to play, but even more than that, I want to be there to help, given that we are struggling the way we are,'' Iverson said. ``I wanted to go out and give us a lift, but the way my ankle was in the second half, I can't help that way.''

Iverson will miss the Nuggets' games at Indiana on Friday night and Milwaukee on Saturday night but hopes to play again Monday night against Golden State.

He acknowledged, however, that he might be sidelined through the All-Star game Feb. 18 in Las Vegas.

``This (team) means more to me than the All-Star game. I have been there and done that in my career. If I have to (skip it), if that's the right thing for me to do, then that is exactly what I will do,'' Iverson said. ``That is something that I haven't thought about because I don't care about that right now. I care about this team right here.''

If Iverson backs out of his eighth All-Star appearance, that would give teammate Carmelo Anthony another crack at making his first All-Star team as one of commissioner David Stern's injury replacement picks. Stern has said he won't hold Anthony's 15-game suspension for fighting against him when choosing replacements.

Coach George Karl, who has spent the last two months juggling his lineup because of trades, injuries and suspensions, kept up a brave front in the face of his latest setback regarding Iverson.

``We are good enough to win without him,'' Karl said, ``and it will be special if we can get everyone on the court.''

Center Marcus Camby (groin), who hasn't played in a week, will be a game-time decision Saturday night.

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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